Fragments
by wandering.scavenger
Summary: He is in her dreams, as a child, a young boy, a broken man: all begging for her to end his pain. She does not realise that they are bound, and the dreams were not just dreams, but a call from the Light that still lived in the hearth of her enemy's soul. They are fragments, fragments of the Light that fought to live within him. Fragments of the Darkness that sought to claim her.
1. Chapter One

Chapter One

 _The first time she meets him is in a small nursery, with walls painted white like the skies of Jakku when the sun is at its peak._

 _She squints, disoriented by the expectation of blazing heat, only to realise that the air had wrapped itself around her in a comfortable blanket of warmth. He is there, dressed in a cosy white jumper that is in stark contrast with his dark curls. The floor he sits on is carpeted and soft against her bare feet, her toes wiggle in delight at the feel or it. Drawings are scattered around the room, some in a heap on the floor, some hung up on the white walls in wooden frames. One picture strangely resembles a ship that she knows very well, but it is a mass of grey and blue lines that obstruct her from remembering just what it reminded her of; it remains in the back of her mind, a thought for her to dwell on when she's compelled enough to. His cheeks are round and flushed, marked by several freckles that scatter from the bridge of his nose to the outer corners of his eyes._

 _They are very innocent eyes, framed by a set of thick dark lashes that brush against his plump cheeks when he blinks. He speaks to himself in the childish way that younglings do, holding his toys up in the air as he makes sounds that resemble the blasters of starships. She grins at the sight, remembering how she used to do the same thing during her lonesome days on the desert planet, though her toys were significantly less detailed and luxurious looking than his were._

 _There is something about the youngling that strikes her as familiar, but the idea immediately slips from her mind when his behaviour begins to shift from a cheerful disposition to a quiet one._

 _His arms have stopped moving, they have instead lowered to the ground he sat on. The toys remain suspended in the air, and he stares up at the objects in what looks to be a mix of fear and amazement. She stares in awe along with the child, wondering whether it was by his own power that they floated about. A shift occurred, the room suddenly void of any warmth that had given comfort to both her and the child. A gasp, a short cry, a muffled sound erupted from the little boy's lips as he stumbled backwards on the ground. She nears the boy immediately in hopes of sweeping him into her arms, only to be held back by her own body. Her feet refuse to move, followed by her shallow breaths and a thickness in the air that fogged up her troubled mind._

 _The youngling covers his ears, trying to get up to flee from whatever seemed to be tormenting him. For a moment his tear-filled eyes locked with hers, dark and filled with a terror that she sought to ease; recognition brimmed in them, as though he knew exactly just who she was and begged her to help him—to take away the pain. His small hands grip at his head desperately, shaking ever so slightly in what seemed to be an effort at doing away with the noise that only he could hear. She struggles against the unknown force that kept her at bay, doing her best to speak to the child and catch his attention once again. No sound escapes from her own mouth, only a deathly silence that began to echo in her mind like the helpless cries of the child._

 _He finally looks up at her, only his eyes are filled with an accusing glare._

 _It struck her chest with a sadness that could have sent her plummeting into a dark hole of guilt. Perhaps she already was, her mind grappled for something, anything to pull her from the agony that the youngling's eyes reflected._

 ** _No._**

 _-SW-_

Rey woke up to the feeling of suffocating.

She covered her mouth to keep herself from gasping out with fear, blinking up at the star-filled sky that twinkled above her.

It was just a dream. A haunting, terrible dream.

Her chest ached as she tried to steady her breath, the last thing she wanted was for Master Luke to emerge from his little hut because her breathing and thoughts were so loud. Though a mild mannered and rather gruff man, she always felt as though she was cautiously feeling the ground for quicksand when she was around him. He would never hurt her, no, but the idea of disturbing a man whose own emotions were still so fragile was not something she wanted to do. Luke Skywalker fled to this lonely planet for peace, so Rey would do her best to maintain that peace, albeit her very presence was preventing it already.

Shifting to her side, Rey attempted to recount her memory of the dream, but her mind was a blank slate. Only the colour white dwelled in her thoughts, its brightness bringing with it a sense of apprehension that filled her. When she attempted to go back to sleep, she found that her pounding heart rendered her incapable of doing so at all. The scavenger girl rubbed her tired eyes, pushing herself up from her sleeping bag to get dressed for the day. The sun was a small blip on the horizon of the sea when she exited her tent, a calm orange that carried hues of red painted faintly over the calm waters. She let out a sigh as she stretched her arms and legs, perhaps Master Luke would be pleased if he saw her having an early start today. Sleeping in was never a habit of Rey's, what with her scavenging duties back at Jakku, but somehow her Master always managed to rise earlier than she did.

It had been a month now since she had found the last Jedi in Ach-To, her progress as his Padawan was fairly good, but not fast enough to please her. What took nearly and entire childhood and more of learning the ways of the Jedi, Rey had to learn within a span of a few months. She had made it a personal goal of hers to leave the sea covered planet with Master Luke in less than a year. Time wasn't on her side, the Resistance would need her and Master Luke as soon as possible, especially with the First Order still a force to be reckoned with. Both sides came out of the short-lived battle with relatively grave wounds, but the stakes were high and they still had no idea where its Head was and where his other servants were.

The Knights of Ren.

Rey kept a steady rhythm to her breathing as she jogged around the tiny islet, careful to watch her steps upon descending from the stone pathway; stumbling had become a common occurrence for her ever since she'd arrived on the remote planet. She thought of the person behind the monstrous mask that haunted her before she fell into her usual dreamless sleep; there was a time when she had been stunned into silence at the realisation that it was a mere man, with his unremarkable features and strange eyes, but it didn't take very long for her to realise that his face was as much of a mask as the one that he wore. Though she didn't want to admit it to herself, knowing that her Master would see the answer in her heart if he asked her such, Rey hoped that he had died on the Starkiller base. She thought of that cold night—when Han Solo had died, when Finn had been hurt so badly from trying to protect her that he nearly died from wounds that the monster had given him, when she fought the monster and conquered him.

When she desperately wanted to finish Kylo Ren off herself as he gazed up at her with what looked to be an expression of shock and reluctant fear.

She imagined what it might have felt to feel his flesh slowly seared open by the radiating heat of the lightsaber in her hands—she imagined that her hands would have only gripped the hilt of her blade even tighter at the sound of his tortured screams. The Padawan did her best not to dwell on that cold night. She often succeeded at it, but today was a different case. She couldn't afford for her Master to hear her perverse thoughts, or the way her heart sped with excitement at the thought of cutting up the man who was once his Padawan and nephew.

 _Such Dark thoughts should never be entertained._

Nearly slipping for the first time in what she thought would be a triumphant week, Rey bit back a curse, slowing down her pace to steady herself again. If she was going to be distracted, she should at least distract herself with inconsequential things such as how many fishes she would catch for their meals today, or how Finn and BB-8 were doing back at the Resistance base. To no avail, her thoughts circumvented back to the cold night; Rey huffed in frustration, jogging to the edge of the islet's cliff to perch herself at its top. Perhaps she would be able to clear her mind if she meditated.

Closing her eyes, the Padawan held her hands together and adjusted her posture as Master Luke had taught her. ' _There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the Force'_

It was a mantra that she learned on her second day as Master Luke's Padawan; he had made her sit still at the edge of islet's cliff in the midst of a thunderstorm for an entire night. The anger she felt towards her new Master crackled as great as the lightning that struck the ground around her, Rey barely lasted ten minutes until she broke down in tears. Thunderstorms were completely foreign to her until that night, and she felt as though she was thrust back into the horrid vision she had seen when she was at Maz Kanata's cantina. The images she saw that day were hazy to her memory now, but the fear she felt coursing through her veins would never be forgotten.

She sighed with relief when she began to feel the serenity wash over her. Though rare, there were days when Rey could feel it ebb from her very body, moving back and forth like the lapping waves on the islet shore. The green trees that covered the land filled her lungs with fresh air mixed with the salty taste of the sea, there was more life on this little islet than there ever was on Jakku.

Master Luke taught her that meditation not only brought peace to the Jedi, but gave the Jedi the ability to draw strength from the elements of the world. In his case, he thrived when surrounded by the sea. Like Rey, her master spent much of his youth on a desert planet; he was unsurprised when she stated how averse she was to the sun, no matter how accustomed she became to its merciless heat. She herself was more at ease surrounded by the seas of the remote planet they inhabited, though she didn't feel a connection to the sea in the same magnitude that Luke Skywalker seemed to. The Padawan wondered if it had to do with her true family, the one that she forgot. The elderly man had said one day that the sea reminded him much of his sister, but there was a flicker in his eyes and wistfulness to his voice that told her it meant more to him than General Organa.

"I assume you didn't have a very pleasant sleep."

Master Luke's voice pulled Rey from her reverie, she bit back a frustrated whine that made its way up her throat. The peace she felt had all but disappeared, and her thoughts shifted back to the dreadful dream that she couldn't even remember. The Padawan turned around and tilted her head up to meet the gaze of her Master, feeling the frustration begin to dissolve at the look of Luke Skywalker's calm blue eyes. Rey chewed on her lower lip at the realisation of her unjustified anger towards her Master, nodding her head with guilt in response.

"Just a nightmare, it's all but forgotten now." She said, pushing herself up to stand before Master Luke and bow in respect.

The corners of Luke's mouth twitched downward ever so slightly, and he gestured to the stone path back to their quarters, where they would have their first meal of the day. "Meditation is a powerful way to counter the negative feelings and thoughts of an individual, but it shouldn't be used as a means of forgetting, because it is impossible to do such." He stated, his voice raised up a timbre, something he did when he attempted to speak of something serious with feigned nonchalance. It was a strange way to teach her, but Rey figured that it was a tactic he had been using since he was a child. She envisioned her Master as a young boy, telling his guardians that he had accidentally broken their radiator with the same air of ease that he spoke with her now.

"I know...I know. It's just—I can't actually remember what bothered me so much about the dream, I don't recall anything at all. Only the fear. A Jedi can't succumb to fear." It was true when Rey said this to Luke Skywalker, in the end it all circled back to her need to become a Jedi—a good Jedi.

Her Master nodded in agreement as they sat by the little campfire they set up every morning, which surprised her, as he always managed to counter her statements with a Jedi anecdote that proved her wrong. She was right to doubt that he would agree with her wholeheartedly. "That is true, yes. But a Jedi must first counter fear by acknowledging that the Jedi is afraid. Fear is a natural emotion that we all encounter, it is what is to be done with that fear that separates the Light and Dark sides of the Force."

Rey pursed her lips, knowing where their conversation would lead to. The Light and the Dark sides of the Force. Everything she knew about the Force came in small doses from the words that her Master said, which slightly rattled her; records of the Jedi Order and its teachings were all but gone, leaving everything to be passed on through oral tradition. Nonetheless she still managed to keep up, Rey just wished that she could already learn everything that she needed to learn.

Training with Master Luke began not long after their meal was finished, Rey was always made to clean the pots and fish for their food as a supposed form of her preparation as a Padawan. It didn't come as a surprise to her that her Master expected as much from her, cleaning and fishing was practice for patience and reflexes respectively. She once spent 5 hours trying to catch fish with her bare hands, her hands and feet were both sore and wrinkled from wading in the shore for too long. Rey had progressed a lot since then, taking no longer than 15 minutes for their catch of the day; though she'd grown used to her daily routine with Master Luke, her patience was wearing thin from anxiety. They spent the second half of the morning travelling to different islets, each land assigned a different task for Rey to fulfil—stamina, endurance, balance, strength—the list went on. Knots formed on her back and her muscles screamed in agony for her to give up, but she pushed on, never stopping to wipe the sweat from her brow or tuck away whatever stray hair tickled at her flushed face. If she could tear apart spaceships larger than a village in Jakku, she could take anything that her Master cast on her path. The physical aspect, though exhausting, never drained her in the way that the mental aspect of training did. On some days she practiced her telekinesis, others she practiced her mind tricks on the flocks of birds that occasionally flew by; when she grew tired of having to catch the fishes with her bare hands, she manipulated them into doing swimming tricks for her before taking them. Strength of the will was generally more difficult to control than strength of the body.

Mental training took place on a single islet, the smallest that Rey had seen in her exploration of Ach-To. It was a piece of rock and land that barely stretched 6 meters, but oddly never disappeared when the tide arose. The water around it was still at all times, as though it were in a vacuum of its own; she didn't have to try sensing the Light force that the islet emitted. What made it most special was the underway the centre of the islet. They had never ventured into it together, Rey was often made to stand guard and practice outside of its entrance when her Master spent his time within the mysterious tunnel. Several times she had attempted to sneak after Master Luke, only for her plans to be thwarted by a forcefield that she still wasn't strong enough to break through.

"Come along." Rey looked to her elderly companion in stunned silence, her hazel eyes filled with disbelief and confusion. She said nothing as she watched him descend into the underpass alone, taking some time to consider her options; slowly, Rey walked forward and smiled in triumph, realising that her Master had meant for her to follow after him.

There was no light within the narrows pathways of the islet, leaving the Padawan to trust solely in her Force senses. Master Luke made no sound as he treaded down the hall, and for a moment she wondered if he was there with her at all. She kept her eyes closed as she trudged after her Master, taking note of the oddly fresh smell and the smoothness of its stone walls. Minutes—hours—there was no telling how long they walked through the secret tunnel. Rey's concept of time was totally dependent on the state of her feet, which now ached and cramped up every now and then. She made no complaints, her body could barely contain her excitement at the thought of what lay beneath the tiny isle. An unpleasant thought crossed her mind; the intricate structure of the pathways reminded her slightly of Starkiller base, another labyrinth of darkness that was an unknown to the scavenger girl. This was different though, there was no sense of impending doom or evil that shook her to the bone. It amazed her how deep the underpass ran, and she wondered just how far it stretched out beneath the islet.

Suddenly Rey stopped walking, having accidentally bumped into the back of the now still Master Luke. She opened her eyes, blinking several times to adjust to the darkness that surrounded them.

It looked like an empty cavern, and without warning her senses ceased to be.

Rey collapsed to the ground, feeling the damp soil beneath her cloth covered knees as she whimpered in shock, and then the feeling of the soil itself disappeared beneath her. She felt as though she was caught between being tied to the ground she couldn't see and hovering about in a void of oblivion. She spoke and found that she could hear neither the words that spilled from her mouth nor the exhale of breath that escaped from her nose.

' _There is no emotion, there is peace._ ' she thought to herself, considering that perhaps this was a test that Master Luke intended for her. Otherwise, why else would he keep her from the deep tunnels for so long? It was a test, most definitely a test. Her breathing steadied and her ears picked up a sound, was it her? No, it was a strange clinking sound that sounded awfully familiar to her. Rey blinked again and found the darkness that surrounded her begin to lessen as she steadied her breathing; her body still refused to move, but she reckoned that it would in a while if she just relaxed.

"This is just a test." she said, grinning when the soft sound of her voice followed after the movement of her mouth. Before the darkness completely dissolved, Rey discerned that her Master was nowhere to be seen. The Padawan pushed herself off of her sore hands with great effort, wincing at the feel of the unknown force that still weighed down on her. The clinking sound returned, prompting her to lift her head and crane her neck to look around.

Amidst the darkness sat a lone figure clad in white, small and so unassuming in posture that Rey was almost a hundred percent certain that it couldn't be real. She tried to keep her heartbeat steady, taking notice of how is slowly began to pick up a pace as she studied the figure ahead of her. The clinking sound grew louder, and this time the figure was growing less distant to her eyes. The Padawan tried to release herself from the unknown force again, though she didn't understand why the uneasiness in her heart was increasing. The weight of the force came down on her like a great boulder that she hadn't seen coming, Rey screamed in pain when she head slammed against the floor.

The clinking sound was finally right before her, but she could barely lift her head to look up and see the figure that was making the little noise. Rey thought of a bright white room with juvenile paintings and an image of an innocent youngling playing with his toys. That was it—her dream. The tunnel was making her remember her dream the night before. She was with the youngling, the innocent youngling with dark curls and rosy cheeks. The Padawan grunted quietly as she dug her palms against the ground to push herself up, fear immediately clawed its way into her mind when a hand suddenly wrapped itself around her neck and yanked her up to her feet. Rey hissed with agony when her the back of her head made contact with what must have been the stone walls of the tunnel. She cried out, kicking and grappling for whoever was assaulting her, all attempts at peace that she had made earlier were made in vain. Rey began to lose consciousness right then and there, but she fought to open her eyes and see her cruel tormentor.

She remembered his face, cold and calculating when he first removed his monstrous mask to reveal himself to her. She remembered it well, twisted with fury as they duelled to the death one snowy knight on Starkiller base. She remembered _him_ , though she wished that she couldn't. But what she couldn't remember were his eyes, so filled with fear and pain as they were now. Had they ever been like that before? They were dark eyes, eyes that one would expect to hold the secret of a demon within—but they did not, instead they held the fear of a lost child begging for help. How? Rey felt a tear trickle from the corner of her left eye when she lost consciousness; her eyes rolled to the back of her head, followed by complete darkness once more.

 _What happened to the child?_

* * *

Let me know what you think, reviews are much appreciated!


	2. Chapter Two

_Chapter Two_

There was no day, not even when the three suns of the planet rose up in the sky and shone on the abandoned city he now resided in.

This world was dark and cold in a different way that Starkiller base had been; the planet on which they established the First Order's weapon seemed as though it was born to darkness, a much colder and unwelcoming place than Hoth, for it harboured no living things but the stormtroopers that the First Order had sent. But not this world, this world was dead because its people left it to die—all but Supreme Leader Snoke. Kylo Ren had no substantial knowledge of the Supreme Leader's home; it hardly posed as an interest to him. How much longer until they would leave the dark place was a better thought to ponder on, especially with two of the three suns verging on the edge of imploding. Their time on the dead planet was limited, but the Supreme Leader intended for them to make the most of their stay on it while it lasted. The Knight watched as the suns shifted in colours of blue and violet, observing as a spray of red shot out from the outer rim of their rays of dying light; the beauty of the deaths was lost to him.

He was oddly reminded of the destruction of the Ileenium system, and how he stood still as he watched their weapon destroy millions of lives.

The few of the First Order who had managed to flee from the destruction of Starkiller Base were immediately led to the dying planet of the Supreme Leader, where they regrouped and were sent off to other sectors to continue their work. The blow that they had taken from the Resistance cost them nearly ten thousand lives in the militia alone, General Hux had gone to the Cirius system under mysterious circumstances, though it was likely that it involved recruitment. Kylo Ren sneered in derision at the thought of his colleague carrying out a mission that he had no knowledge of, insulted by the implication that he didn't deserve such information.

' _To envy that man is ridiculous, the Supreme Leader has other plans for me._ ' he thought, his mind wandering to the events of the past month. The training that he had been undergoing occupied the whole of his stay with the Supreme Leader; Ren was not particularly bothered by this, for it often meant he was alone save for two other people, thought they were considerably unpleasant company to him. The things he had been tasked with were different, much different from when he first began training with the First Order; being able to manifest the Dark side through his actions and physical abilities were easy, but what he was being made to learn now was far more complex. The Supreme Leader had even said that he would overtake his grandfather's greatness by leagues, especially with a Master such as himself.

"Jormant calls for us."

Kylo Ren turned away from his view of the dying suns, unsurprised to see his fellow training companion. She was the newest addition to their organisation, a replacement for one of his recently deceased colleagues. Ren himself had little respect for traitors, but even he was moved by the gall of the new member to kill her own teacher for a place amongst them; ' _He was beginning to question the Supreme Leader._ ' she said, her voice tinged with defiance the first time they met on the dead planet. He remembered trying to reason with the Supreme Leader several years ago to imprison her tribe of Witches just as Darth Sidious had intended, but the Head of the First Order found that they were obedient under the threat of their planet's longevity. It seemed to pay off for his Master, for among the cursed women an apprentice to the Knights of Ren was found, one who saw true vision in the ideals of the First Order. Tankä Ren, a woman-child who had previously served as a Nightsister of Dathomir.

To Kylo Ren's disgust, the girl still wore her hair and traditional face paint in the way that her tribe did. He thought of the disrespect it imposed on the Supreme Leader and the Knights of Ren, but kept silent as his Master seemed to have no qualms about it. It never stopped him from inwardly cringing when she removed her mask though, revealing the mane of dark hair done in thick braids and lines of dark green on her painted white face; she looked like a savage in spite of the fine robes she'd been provided with as a Knight under the Supreme Leader. Tankä Ren only seemed to revel more in his silence at the knowledge of her colleague's revulsion.

"Very well." he replied, turning to follow the girl. They walked in silence, only the soft mechanical hum of his mask accompanied them during their journey down the crumbling halls of the building. "He intends for you to master the Force phantom by the end of the week." the girl started, tilting her head up to speak to Ren. Her yellow eyes flash with annoyance; he imagined that she was envious, as a new member she was limited to learning the ways of the Knights of Ren and several fighting forms and techniques. He gave no indication of having heard her, directing his attention to their descent to the underground chambers of the building.

Tankä Ren growled, hurrying after him as she spoke, "You do know that you will not succeed in becoming the next Sith, Ehntu Ren is next in line as the Sith apprentice; he served the Supreme Leader before you could even walk on your own two feet—" he didn't give her the opportunity to finish her insult, her snide remark was cut off by the feel of Kylo Ren's power slamming her against the wall of the narrow staircase.

"Do not think that I am unaware of your ability, _witch_." the dark Knight said, his mask emphasising the simmering rage in his voice with its dark tone, "I will not have you sewing doubt within the ranks of the Knights of Ren, I am not foolish like your previous Master." the woman-child clenched her teeth as he spoke, trying to maintain the facade that she was unafraid of the man's threat.

With that said, Tankä Ren felt her body lower to the ground; she regained her balance quickly when her feet finally felt the surface of the steps below them. Kylo Ren made for the training chambers without another word, leaving the girl to contemplate on what he said.

Prophet Jormunt had been kneeling on the marble floor when the Knight had entered the training room, it was an occurrence that the man had grown accustomed to seeing. The bearded fellow acted as his constant companion on the dead planet, drilling him with doctrine of the Sith that he was well aware of after over 15 years with the First Order. Kylo Ren didn't consider himself to be a master of the word of the Sith, but he was no stranger to its sacred texts; if there was anything that the Jedi lacked more than intelligence, it was written doctrine. Of course, that was only because his grandfather succeeded in infiltrating the Jedi Temple and aiding the Galactic Empire in destroying its information.

"I sense conflict between two servants of the Supreme Leader."

Kylo Ren made no reply, stopping to stand in front of the elderly man; Tankä Ren arrived not long after that, her painted face covered up by a black mask just as his was. The Prophet stood from where he sat, looking at the new Knight with an expression of weariness, "You may have killed Vorgu Ren, Lady Tankä, but if you intend on causing chaos within the Knights of Ren—expect that your punishment will not be as kind as the one you beseeched upon your late teacher."

The man's statement was met with silence, but the minute turn of the woman-child's head satisfied the Prophet's expectation that she heeded his warning. Four other men approached them from behind Jormunt's still form, their hooded faces only betraying the long beards that grew from their chins. Kylo Ren's younger companion walked ahead to meet the four men halfway, following them to the chamber next door to begin her training. The dark Knight kept his eyes on the Prophet, having felt the presence of three other beings entering the underground room, one particularly bearing an aura that he was unfamiliar with.

A shivering man was thrown to the marble ground, his emaciated body producing a smacking sound at the impact of his fall. He muttered words in his alien tongue, never stopping to wipe the tears from his eyes or the mucus that ran from his nose. It occurred to Kylo Ren that the prisoner had been praying. He didn't understand what the man was saying, but it had never been difficult to tell when someone was so resigned to their fate that they sought solace from their gods. Clearly not a native of the dead planet, for those people once bore the same features as the Supreme Leader. He stared down at the pitiful human, taking note that he looked to be at least in his sixties—like Han Solo had been.

The Knight mentally shook his thoughts from the image of the deceased smuggler, focusing instead of the cowering man before him. His body radiated with fear, but he remained still, well aware of what would ensue within the four corners of the room. The dark Knight didn't have to look to the Prophet for approval to begin, he stretched out his arm and lifted his hand ever so slightly to align with the prisoner. Behind the mask, Kylo Ren closed his eyes to keep focus, imagining a dark entity emerging from the man's body and intertwining with his fingertips as he felt the pull of the Force on both their bodies.

The screams followed immediately, the prisoner's anguished cries echoing down the halls that connected from the training chamber. ' _Open your eyes_.' a voice hissed, sending shivers down Kylo Ren's spine. He obeyed, unblinking and unflinching as the victim's body began to spasm and shrivel at his command. A dark mist surrounded them, an energy he had become so familiar with over the past few weeks. It took on a specific form, shifting and dragging itself along the floor as its corporeality grew at his command. Kylo Ren was stronger now, not just in his abilities, but in spirit. His mind and soul were for the Darkness to mould at will, the Knight was but a humble servant that bowed down to the ways of the Dark side. It took a great amount of time until the phantom finally resembled a human being. Its hair became a mix of grey and white, followed by an aged face of furrowed white brows and wrinkles at the corners of its eyes. The phantom bore a gruff smile on its face, all too familiar for the Knight to not recognise. His heart ceased at the sight, filled with a cold fire that could have consumed his entire being.

Before he truly understood what overcame him, Kylo Ren drew his lightsaber and pierced it through the phantom's body. It shrieked in protest, a sound nearly ten times as loud as the screams of his now dead victim.

He didn't scream when the Knight impaled him. No, it wasn't _him_. The man was dead long before this day. Kylo Ren could only feel the brush of a calloused hand against his cheek, only hear the sound of a girl's anguished cries as the body fell into the depths of the gaping hole beneath them, only see the metal floor as he dropped to his knees and succumbed to pain for the smallest moment.

"Again." the dark Knight growled, his posture suddenly taking a menacing stance when he approached the Prophet that stared at him with hollow eyes. His bearded companion nodded in response, gesturing to the two figures that stood by his side. The men retreated from the room; Kylo Ren waited, flexing his hand as he waited for the next victim to practice on.

It was midnight when Prophet Jormunt had him returned to his chambers, satisfied by his performance for the day. ' _He is progressing quickly._ ' the bearded man whispered, his lips pressed together in what must have been an attempt at a smile, no matter how malevolent it truly looked. The dark Knight found platters of food set on the dining table by the entrance to the balcony; though the food was cold, he made no complaint, having lived on less appetising meals when he was a pathetic Padawan to Luke Skywalker.

A bath was prepared by the servants before his arrival, he made it a point to arrive in his quarters several minutes after they left, having little interest in being exposed to their aura of fear whenever he was in their presence. It was still warm when he had finished his meal, not that it would have been difficult for him to heat it if it turned cold. Kylo Ren stripped his cape from his body, followed by his gloves, which he left on the wardrobe by the water basin. The rest of his clothes joined his cape, folded neatly into a pile that would be replaced by the time he wakes up the next morning.

Pouring the water over his face the man sighed and rubbed his tired eyes. He sank into the bathtub until his head rested against its edge, contemplating on his conversation with the spoiled witch child that he'd been forced to endure since his arrival on the dying planet. ' _Ehntu Ren is next in line as the Sith apprentice._ '

Kylo Ren sneered at the thought, Ehntu Ren was a loyal Knight to the Supreme Leader, but with age he had grown so passive it was nearly insulting to their organisation. Last he heard, his middle aged colleague had travelled to Coruscant to maintain the base that was established there. There were not much complaints about Coruscant with regards to its citizens that were under the jurisdiction of the First Order, which either meant that Ehntu Ren was too lenient with the Coruscanti that there was nothing to rebel against, or so accomplished that they were completely resigned to the Supreme Leader. His colleague was no threat to him, as far as he was concerned, his greatest opponent for the title as the Sith apprentice was himself. He was the prized student of Luke Skywalker once, someone that the Supreme Leader had coveted since the day of his birth; he was born to become a Sith, to fulfil the legacy of Darth Vader.

There was no denying that 'till this day he still felt the pull of the Light. The Knight was ashamed to admit it, he feared the possibility that perhaps he would never be rid of its calling. There was still hope, hope to finally immerse himself in the Darkness that he was destined for. It was within him, a chasm that grew each time he used its power. Though slow to work, it was most definitely succeeding in snuffing out the Light that clenched at his heart. The white flame was soft and small, a tender hearth that Leia Organa forced into his body when he was an infant. It was a strong little thing, he wondered how the woman had enough power to put something so tiny yet so powerful within him.

He absentmindedly ran his hand along the scar that ran from the left corner of his forehead to the edge of his right cheekbone, feeling the raised skin that formed over the laceration. If he had just been strong enough, the Knight might have been able to heal the wound himself, but he was weakened by a fever he caught from the freezing cold of Starkiller base. For a reason unknown to him, his spirit was more unwilling than his own flesh. ' _You deserve more pain than this_.' a voice whispered at the back of his head that night as he lay unconscious on the medical table of their starship. He knew it was his own, it was the voice of the flame that Leia Organa placed inside of him.

The girl, it was because of that _damned scavenger girl_ that he bore a scar that would forever mark his failure—his failure to retrieve what was rightfully his, his failure to prevent the destruction of Starkiller base…but most of all, his failure to find freedom from the Light in murdering Han Solo.

"Not just a scavenger girl." Kylo Ren whispered, his mind recalling the fierce hatred in her hazel eyes as she raised Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber to kill him. _His_ lightsaber.

-SW-

Not for the first time, Rey awoke to the feeling of being unable to breathe. She gasped for air when she sat up from where she lay, clutching at her throat in a flurry of panic. Master Luke was at her side immediately, pressing his callused hand against her forehead to send waves of calm throughout her body; he held a canteen of water to her lips, and she shakily took it into her hands and drank greedily from it. It had been a while since she had felt so dehydrated, she wouldn't want to wish the experience on anyone, it was a pain that sent your head spinning and your body crippled up with weakness.

"What happened?" she asked, lowering the flask to her lap to stop drinking; her other hand never left her neck, though it surprisingly no longer hurt. The Jedi looked at her questioningly, standing up from his seat by the bonfire to serve himself a bowl of fish gruel. Rey frowned, taking note that the sun had finally set; she wondered how long she had been out.

"You fainted as soon as we were about to enter the shrine." he replied, his lips pressed into a grim line.

A Shrine?

Rey closed her eyes, fighting back the tears of distress that welled inside; how could something like that happen in a Shrine? He couldn't be alive, he _couldn't_. She saw him unconscious and bleeding in the snow when she departed from Starkiller base before it exploded. The entire underpass radiated with the purity of Light force; dead or alive, how could a monster like Kylo Ren reach her mind there? She shivered at the memory of his hand around her neck, the Padawan could still feel the touch of his power on her mind. It was almost as iron-like as his grip on her just hours ago. "The shrine is not a place where you can bring your fear with you my Padawan, it is a place of peace and serenity." Master Luke said, his eyes distant as he stared off into the fire before drinking from his bowl of gruel.

 _Fear._

Her thoughts were suddenly thrown off by the mere mention of the word. Rey removed her hand from her neck for a second, taking another swig from the canteen of water. She felt fear when she lost all her senses in the Shrine, but it was more than that—she had seen fear itself in the eyes of her enemy, as though he was reflecting her own emotions. ' _You are my guest_ ' his voice—no—the monster's voice echoed in her ear, deep and mechanical from the contraption he wore over his head. The strangest thing about what happened was that he wore no mask when she came across him in the Shrine, she didn't fear the monster beneath the mask; she _hated_ him with her entire being. If there was anything that she feared, it was the feeling of the utter terror that coursed in body back in Takodana when she was running from an enemy she didn't know.

"I brought you to one of the shrines of the outer system because I believed that you were ready, but I was mistaken." Rey felt her heart clench with disappointment in herself and pain from the sting of her Master's words, she never knew what it was like to be told by a parental figure that she let them down, seeing as she had been alone on Jakku for most of her life; this new experience was not a pleasure at all. "The Shrine…why is it underground?" she asked, hoping to divulge what he intended for them to do there that day—until she succumbed to fear that is. The Jedi set his empty bowl down and filled another one up, presumably for her; Rey took the bowl and murmured her thanks, her eyes still expectant for her Master's reply.

"In the outer rim of this system there are four Shrines, each used for one of the five Jedi Trials—at the centre of the outer rim is the final trial, where the first Jedi temple stands." Rey's eyes widened and her jaw slackened, she had failed a Jedi trial. Her heart suddenly seemed too heavy to bear the gravity of it all, anger simmered on the surface of it all, and she bit back a frustrated sob. She didn't feel like crying, she was much closer to throwing a tantrum, as uncharacteristic of her as it was.

"You did not experience the trial Rey, calm yourself and steady your heart." She looked up to meet the concerned gaze of her Master, "Remove you hand from your neck my Padawan, you left the Shrine unharmed." he continued, gesturing to her tightening grip on the skin of her neck. The scavenger girl obeyed immediately, wrapping both her hands around the wooden bowl on her lap.

"What were we doing within the Shrine then, Master Luke?" she asked softly, her mind still reeling at the new information her elderly companion had shared with her—he had found the first Jedi Temple. Rey was tempted to ask him how long he had known its location, and why he hadn't returned to General Organa immediately after that. But she couldn't, not when a part of her knew that the answer to those questions would be too painful to hear. Luke Skywalker pursed his lips and rubbed his forehead, taking his seat next to her by the fire once again, "I intended on teaching you how to enter into a Force trance, an act that requires strength of both the spirit and body, though mainly affecting the body only. That was the first shrine of the four, therefore it isn't where the Trial of the Spirit takes place, but it is a very spiritual place nonetheless." Rey nodded, watching the strange expression on her Master's aged face.

"Why did that happen to me in the Shrine?"

Luke Skywalker broke his gaze from the fire and shook his head, sighing heavily, "I am unsure—but you will train—and we will return when you are meant to." he replied.

The Padawan said nothing, disbelieving of her companion's words. She figured that he was a good liar when he wanted to be, what with all his abilities as a Jedi Master, but he spoke as though he had no faith in his own words. He was hiding something from her. Rey wanted to shake him and beg for him to tell her, to tell her so she wouldn't have to be so ignorant of everything anymore. She didn't, not when she too was hiding something from him. There was no telling whether Master Luke knew about her dream the night before or what she saw within the ancient Shrine, but she had a feeling that he expected her to speak of it nonetheless, which she refused to. If she really could hide it from him, then she would do her best to.

Dead or alive, Rey could fend off Kylo Ren herself; they were just nightmares.

' _Strong ones.'_

* * *

 _reviews always appreciated._


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